Top 200 wines of 2024, part two, 93 point wines, second tranche,  149-123

This second batch of 93 point wines are by definition preferred to the first batch by virtue of their higher rankings.

Some of them are knocking on the 94 point door, like for example, Leoville Barton 1988, #130, a wine I have awarded 94 points to before. This one was also a fine example, well into its tertiary phase now, but quintessentially defines the essence of left bank claret. 

As in the first batch of wines some of these performed about as well as I expected while quite a few of  them exceeded my expectations. 

The two standouts in the latter category are #144, Kershaw Elgin 2018, a beautiful SA Pinot when I find the chardonnays from this address a bit too oaky; and Ch. Poujeaux 1997, #126 a wine which continues to defy physics by continuing to improve - an astonishing cru bourgeois from what is regarded as a weak vintage - and quite possibly wine of the vintage. 

Delightful new discoveries included #148, #136 and #125, while there are some very rare and grand wines here which provided enormous pleasure too including #143, #142 and #134

Top 200 wines of the year 2024, part one - 93 points first tranche

Happy new year - may your 2025 be healthy, safe and free - get those three right and the happiness may follow 

It has been another super cali fragilistic expialidocious year of wine drinking and I count myself extremely fortunate to drink as well as I do, similar to - or even better than - previous years. 

For those of you interested in statistics in my top 200 wines in 2024 33%, or one third, were from Bordeaux, 28% from Piedmont, 17% from Burgundy, nearly 7% from Northern Rhone and nearly 9% including Southern Rhone, 4% from Champagne, 3% from Tuscany 2 1/2% from California, 1 1/2% from Australia, 1% each from Loire and Spain, and 1/2% (one bottle each) from England, Greece and South Africa.  

In this list of 200 top wines I rationed out some producers' that appeared frequently this year or have appeared frequently in previous years' lists. These include Yquem 1990 (95), Mouton 1996 (95) and Ducrus 2016 and 1995 (95 and 94 respectively), and also a few 93 and 94 pointers from the Rousseau and Meo Camuzet dinners we had in May and June. Both of these esteemed producers are otherwise well represented in the top 200. 

I don't consider myself to be a generous scorer, but neither am I stingy. These days, based on my scoring, 90-92 is generally the modal, median and mean score of the kind of stuff I drink, or taste (I gave up on pushing an alternative scoring system based on 80-100 with 90 being zero, plus or minus, too hard for people to understand, and let's just accept what is the accepted norm).

The point being is that for a wine to merit 93 points, it has to be pretty good. 

But this is where I start my top 200, at this point point. 

Part one: 93 point wines, first tranche, 200-150 

In this list of generally excellent wines some performed commendably well and above my expectations, while others performed about how you would expect them too.

In the former category I would include the #200 a fully mature delightful PdB when no single crus were made, and three standout clarets: #196, #194 and #191. Other over achievers included the marvellous Gianluca Colombo wines - #193, #190 and #161, and from elsewhere #170 the only ESW on the list and #159, #153 and #151 - my wine-pages sweet wine nomination.

In the latter category, performing as one would expect, you would have wines like #185, #184, #183, #178, #176, #174, #168 and #157.

Bordeaux vintage assessment 1961-2020

This is based on my experience and subjective judgement, ranking the top wines I have tasted or drunk. In some vintages like 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1971 there are still some large holes which may never be filled, and also the younger vintages where I am yet to taste some of the first growths and equivalents

Graham Harvey - 1980-2024 

As we approach the end of another year I would like to pay tribute to Graham, who passed away in late July this year. I only got to know Graham in the three years or so before his passing, mainly through our Italian-themed wine dinners at the Terra Rossa restaurant in Islington, of which he became an integral part. He was loved and respected by all our group. Although I didn’t know him intimately, we became good friends, having plenty of one-on-one, and small group, interaction. We knew he was going through his travails, but the news of his passing in the summer at the tender age of 44 shook us all to the core. I will remember Graham for his kindness, generosity and his cerebral knowledge and enthusiasm, especially for our beloved wines of Piedmont; and also for his keen sense of humour, his conviviality, his gentle engaging demeanour and the twinkle in his eye. It was so sad to lose Graham from our orbit, and he remains greatly missed. 

Graham in the middle wearing the pink shirt, with Joel Hopwood on the left and Nick Amis on the right, lunch at Joel's house in May 2022